


What Waits in the Dark

by onereyofstarlight



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, Night Terrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24144010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onereyofstarlight/pseuds/onereyofstarlight
Summary: Gordon and Penelope talk following a bout of waking nightmares.
Relationships: Penelope Creighton-Ward/Gordon Tracy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	What Waits in the Dark

Sometimes, Gordon runs out of words. He’ll stumble into a dim, shuttered room and not bother to turn on the lights. He’ll skitter away from everyone’s touch and avoid the worried looks. It’s no one’s fault when he has a bad day, when his memories are full of crushing rock and rushing water. Nightmares of paralysis chase him into the first minutes of awareness. He’ll wake and something will still sit heavy on his chest for those awful moments where he can’t react. If he opens his eyes, something that lurks in the corner will turn towards him and smile. It’s been waiting.

It’s been years since this has happened, but the terror and the apparitions never really leave him.

***

Gordon wakes in a dark room on a soft and unfamiliar bed and finds he can’t move. There’s a pain in his side and he daren’t turn towards it. He knows what waits in the dark.

His breathing quickens and grows harsh in the silent room. When the rustling begins beside him, he holds his breath and squeezes his eyes shut tight.

“Gordon?”

A cold chill creeps into his heart. They’ve never spoken before.

A hand on his shoulder breaks the spell keeping him frozen and he scrambles from the covers, limbs flailing as he kicks out at the intruder. His shoulder hits the floor, but there are hidden spaces under the bed too and he can’t stay here. Blindly, he hauls himself up on stiff limbs and backs away with a whimper. His hip knocks against a hard surface but he doesn’t feel the sharp pain that radiates through his nerves. His brain is too strung out on adrenaline to feel more than the thudding of his heart and the ice in his veins.

“Gordon!”

Blessed light returns to the room, chasing away the demons that stood there, mocking him in the dark. They are replaced by a new vision, Penelope deftly wrapping a robe around her as she hurries to his side.

Her hand hovers above his cheek as she stands in front of him, hesitant and unsure.

Just seeing her is enough to ground him in reality. He reaches for her, tugging her close and sinking his face against her neck.

Penelope doesn’t speak. She leads him to the lounge suite in the corner of the room, supporting his weight and holding him in her embrace. He breathes long and slow, trying to calm his racing heart and to forget the horrors conjured by the night.

A draught curls under the sofa and he draws his knees to his chest, unwilling to leave any part of his body unguarded.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense,” says Penelope. “Are you quite alright, Gordon? You didn’t say today’s rescue went so wrong.”

Gordon didn’t move. He knew the problem ran deeper than she could hope to perceive.

“This wasn’t about today,” he admitted softly. “This isn’t new for me.”

He stared determinedly at Penelope. She saw the way his eyes flickered uneasily upwards, his mind still half focused on something behind her. She glanced in the dresser mirror, seeing only her worried face reflecting back at her. Nothing behind her, and nothing but darkness outside.

She stood with a gasp, and moved to close the curtains.

“You never told me you were afraid of the dark.”

“I’m not, Penny.” His expression was pained. “C’mon, really? You know how dark it gets in the deep. And I do loads of cave rescues, you’ve seen me.”

“Then talk to me, Gordon. I’ve never seen you frightened so before. It frightened _me_.”

Gordon closed his eyes.

“It’s like a really intense recurring nightmare. I can’t move. I can’t react. But there are _things_ out there, and they scare the living crap out of me.”

She smacked him lightly.

“Sorry, Pen. It’s the truth though.”

He laughed, a sharp sour note pulling the sound into bitterness.

“I really thought I’d grown out of it. It started when I was a kid, after Dad. It got worse for a while after my accident, y’know. Scott made me see a therapist, they said it was ‘unpleasant but ultimately harmless’.” He snorted. “Harmless for some, maybe. But they were right that I’d grow out of it. It hasn’t been that bad since before we got together.” He shrugged. “Didn’t see why I should bring it up if it wasn’t happening anymore. Leave the past in the past and all.”

She looked up at him with wide, sorrowful eyes.

“We can leave the light on?”

“Aw, Pen, no. It’s not that bad when it’s over. That’ll just waste power.”

“I assure you, we can afford it.”

“Still,” he mumbled.

Her arms feel safe, and the darkness has gone from him. He lifts a hand to cup her cheek and kisses her forehead.

“We can go back to bed now,” he said quietly. “It’s over, I promise.”

Penelope yawned, the early hour catching up with her.

“We’ll have pancakes in the morning,” she promised. “Your favourite.”

“My favourite is waffles.”

“Hmm. I’m sorry to hear you are wrong. Pancakes it is.”

Gordon huffed a laugh, honest and joyous.

“Whatever you say, Pen.”

They crawled into the bed together and Gordon slipped an arm around her shoulder. Within minutes, they were both fast asleep once more with more pleasant dreams in mind.

The light was still on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Cross posted from Tumblr, original posted on 05/05/2020


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